Defib Spotlight: Powerheart G5

Careful Consideration

Defibrillators go hand in hand with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as the only definitive treatment to Sudden Cardiac Arrest. This is where the heart has stopped beating in a regular rhythm and quivers, meaning blood cannot be pumped around the body effectively and vital organs are starved of oxygenated blood. The only treatment for this is to shock the heart back into a regular rhythm with the use of a defibrillator and effective CPR.

Without a defibrillator, you cannot provide the care needed to help save a life; that is why it’s vital as many public places as possible are equipped with the life-saving equipment.

When purchasing a life-saving defibrillator, there are various factors that you need to consider before you make the investment. Where is your defibrillator going to be kept? Is the environment indoors or outdoors? Is it a particularly high or low-risk environment? These are just a few of the aspects that require consideration.

Defibrillators all come with unique abilities, varying from brand to brand. Some include ECG capability, others have dual shock ability without the requirement of changing the defibrillator pads and others have a manual override, this allows more experienced users to administer a shock when they think it is required. So, with all this in mind, we’re going to take a look at one of our brightest, boldest and advanced life-saving devices...

Cardiac Science Powerheart G5

Easily recognisable thanks to its signature bold, orange colouring, the sleek and simplistic carry case design of the Powerheart G5 has a habit of dominating attention in any public or working environment that it is placed in.

The defibrillator is built into a carry case with a rubber handle at the top, making this particular device ideal should you choose to take it on the go. This allows you to deliver a rescue in multiple locations, ensuring you’re always prepared to take action in a cardiac emergency.

If the device is required for use, after the lid has been opened, it reveals a hassle-free and easy to follow design usable by both trained and non-trained users. With helpful voice and vocal prompts to guide users every step of the way, rescuers can deliver potentially life-saving care, correctly and confidently.

The Powerheart G5 boasts an impressive IP55 rating, meaning it is protected against water and foreign objects.  This means the unit is fully protected against dust and water – making it suitable for a variety of working and public environments. It has also been tested to military standards to ensure it can function in spite of any cruel environment conditions if used outdoors.

The built-in memory of the G5 can hold up to 90 minutes of ECG, CPR and overall rescue data. This is a helpful feature for medical professionals, who will be able to determine the best possible post-cardiac care following the rescue, the data may also be useful to the UK Resuscitation Council who may wish to analyse the data for future research.

There are over 500,000 Powerheart G5’s currently used worldwide. The device is available in both fully and semi-automatic configuration –a fully automatic device will automatically send defibrillation to a victim’s heart if required with no need for intervention from the user; the semi-automatic unit, however, will advise whether a shock needs to be delivered and will instruct for the shock button to be pressed by the rescuer, so this can be delivered to the patient.

Unique Features:

Hospital Use Ready

In 2000, the Powerheart® CRM was introduced by Cardiac Science. This new introduction was a fully automatic external cardioverter monitor-defibrillator designed for in-hospital use.

For the very first time, medical staff were provided with a highly accurate bedside monitor that offered continuous monitoring of the patient, instant detection of any issues and immediate treatment of arrhythmias that were deemed life-threatening.

This innovation is able to function without human intervention, allowing medical staff to continue to work and concentrate on the other treatment that was required by the patient.

RHYTHM x

The Powerheart G5 defibrillator is powered by the advanced technology patent RHYTHMx. This feature is a software algorithm, which filters noise from the patient’s ECG reading without compromising its ability to identify abnormal heart arrhythmias, correctly.

With RHYTHMx® technology, the Powerheart G5 safely monitors patients while they are conscious, breathing, and ambulatory, this means the patient can be analysed safely when they are in any state.

Based on various clinical studies and thousands of patients applications from around the world, RHYTHMx technology has been proven to be a highly accurate and reliable feature in filtering noise and correctly identifying arrhythmias.

RHYTHMx technology in the Powerheart G5 AED continuously analyses a victim’s heart rhythm at every stage of the treatment. When being tested, RHYTHMx technology demonstrated 100% correct identification of shockable rhythms and 99.4% specificity - correct identification of non- shockable rhythms.

RHYTHMx technology was originally an in-hospital cardiac monitoring algorithm, but now it helps the Powerheart G5 to be highly accurate when detecting and treating patients with abnormal heart arrhythmias.

STAR Biphasic

When someone suffers a cardiac arrest, their heart is quivering rather than beating, meaning vital organs are being deprived of oxygenated blood. This condition is also known as a chaotic rhythm and requires defibrillation of the heart in order to shock the heart back into a regular rhythm.

One of the other features that the Powerheart G5 offers is its STAR Biphasic waveform feature. This was designed with optimised energy delivery in mind, meaning that STAR Biphasic waveform customises the defibrillation energy it provides to each patient to ensure that the most effective shock and treatment is being delivered for a higher chance of survival.

It quickly assesses the characteristics of the patient’s treatment requirements and tailors the defibrillation energy that they’re going to receive. This feature also measures their impedance level, which further assists the customisation of defibrillation energy.

This feature has been validated at leading medical research institutes and was successful in 100% percent of defibrillation attempts.

Different Shocks

Unlike any other devices on the defibrillator market, the Powerheart G5 is the only AED that differentiates between shockable arrhythmias, e.g. ventricular arrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia and non-shockable arrhythmias.

This feature allows for synchronised shocks – if and when possible – by synchronising shock delivery to the patient’s ECG R-wave, which represents the patient’s electrical stimulus in the main area of the ventricular walls.

Who would the Powerheart G5 be suitable for?

The Powerheart G5 has proven popular with a number of industries, from schools to shopping centres, train stations and airports. Its ease of use combined with advanced technology is the G5’s strength, making it a suitable choice for both experienced users and bystanders who may never have used an AED before.

If you would like to learn more about the Powerheart G5 or have any questions about the device and its features, we invite you to give our helpful defibshop team a call. With over 13 years of experience, we’re able to provide honest advice as a completely independent supplier, to help find the right device to suit your requirements, to get in touch, simply call 0845 071 0830.Learn more about defibrillators